I know I'm not the worst drawer in the world, but even I get those really down times where I just don't find anything I draw satisfactory. I've actually just come out of one that lasted nearly a whole year (blame my art teacher at school last year), and since then I've been improving steadily.
I did change skills and styles as I grew, yeah. The progress memes on dA are actually helpful in the sense that the ages and skill changes on every single one is different. It just goes to show that you CAN get better without taking 5 years to do so. I'm going to make one of my own some time this week as well. Maybe you should do one too? :3
And the whole "you get better with age" thing is bullcrap. I found that out years ago when I saw people my age, who had no experience with art whatsoever, suddenly pull incredible drawings outta their butt, yet years later I still fall behind. You can't practise the same thing over and over without changing something and expect to get better; you need to observe your drawings, other peoples' drawings, their anatomy, techniques, etc. etc. stuff you've prolly already heard. 8D
Wow and you thought your post was long! o: